INDIAN ACCESSORIES
HISTORY OF EARINGS
ANCIENT HSITORY OF INDIAN ACCESORIES
History of Indian jewellery is as old as the history of the country itself. Around 5000 years ago, the desire to adorn themselves aroused in people, leading to the origin of jewellery. Since then, Indian women and jewellery have gone hand in hand. There cannot be a woman in India, who does not adore herself with minimum jewellery. In fact, jewellery is considered as security and prestige of women in the country. The attraction for jewellery has been great in India that it is no more a craft than an art.
Indian jewellery is unique in its design and workmanship. In all kinds of traditional dance forms, jewellery has been a significant part. Be it Bharatnatyam, Kuchipudi or Kathak, all have given importance to jewellery in presenting the artist. The sheer number of items forming the jewelry of an Indian woman is numerous, ranging from earrings and necklaces to pieces for adorning the hair, hip, feet, and feet. Jewelry made with emeralds, diamonds, pearls, rubies, sapphires and other precious and semi-precious stones have been in practice for long.
The range of jewelry in India varies from religious to purely aesthetic types. It is crafted not only for humans, but also for the Gods, ceremonial elephants and horses. Royal class people have given patronage to the art of jewellery since ancient times, when rajas and maharajas vied with each other to possess the most exquisite and magnificent pieces. Regional differences can be observed in the making of jewellery, depending on the differences in geography, people, culture, and their lifestyle
IFrom ancient times, long ear lobes have been regarded as a sign of spiritual development and superior status. Among the distinguishing marks of the Buddha, and a sign of his greatness, were his large ear lobes. Homer and Aristotle reputedly also had the same characteristic.
In ancient times severed ears were offered to the Mother Goddess as a substitute for the male organs. In Egypt devotees offered their ears to the goddess Isis, and till the early decades of the Christian era, sculpted ears were offered at the shrine of the Great Mother in other parts of the Middle East.
HISTORY OF BANGLES
I'There is strong evidence which shows that women have been adorning their arms with bangles since ancient times in India. One of the oldest art objects in India, the bronze figurine of a dancing excavated at Mohanjodaro epitomizes the antiquity and the universality of wrist ornaments in India. The figurine stands in the nude with one arm at her hip, the other arm completely weighed down with a collection of bangles. Even the Yakshinis are depicted wearing bangles Banabhatt’s Kadambari has a reference to Goddess Saraswati-Goddess of learning, shown as wearing kangans. Ancient fragments testify that bangles were made from terracotta, stone, shell, copper, bronze, gold, silver, lac, glass and almost any material that lent itself to craftsmanship. From simple plain circlets of metal, to ones decorated with etched and exquisite designs of bird and animal-head terminals and studded with gems, bangles in various forms existed in ancient in India.